Thursday, May 10, 2012

Feature of the Day #51: Decoylab

Today continues our special "Mother's Day gift week", and have we got a shop for you! Today's feature goes to Decoylab Shop, aka, Maiko Kuzunishi and her laser cut bamboo clocks, housewares and accessories.
Kuzunishi is the founder of Decoylab Design studio, and has over 10 years of experience in the graphic design field. Kuzunishi lives to be creative through her work and her interactions with her daughter, Leela. Being with her family and being creative are two of the most important things to her. She loves to experiment with new products in order to keep everything fresh and new. Because the operation at Decoylab is so small, they're able to bring personal attention and care to every customer and product. Decoylab also offers custom projects for websites, posters, invitations, catalogs, brochures, fliers, packaging, and illustrations.

Her work has been featured in a number of magazines including Country Living, Parents, Lucky, Nylon, Pregnancy and Newborn, and online blogs such as Design Sponge, Real Simple, Josh Spear, Dooce, Oh Joy, Fred Flare, NEET and many more.
One of the ways Decoylab stands out, is the waste conscious way they go about creating. This is what Kuzunishi has to say about it:Let's face it. Our world is full of stuff. When you look around, it doesn't take much to see that there is a lot of waste of our valuable natural resources and energy. We care greatly about our planet and the future of our children. Which is why we only make our products "on demand" basis - only what is requested. This also motivates us to create products that are special so they will not go to waste. We've carefully designed each of our products to minimize waste through manufacturing process as well as selected materials that are sustainable. We also took our time to choose our packaging materials so they can be reused or recycled.

This same level of care and conscious effort can be found in every creation that comes from Decoylab. From intricately carved clocks to adorable pins, each product is crafted with care. Kuzunishi has even gone the extra step in her clocks by placing a silent, non-"ticking" motor in each one. In Kuzunishi's piece, Kirie 02 (top right of page) the style of Kirie is mixed with the functionality of a clock. Kirie is the Japanese art of paper cutting and served as the inspiration for this piece. As Kuzunishi says, "the design is inspired from it (kirie) since all images have to be connected in order for laser cutting to curve out the image in one piece." The white of the clock is ivory acrylic backed with bamboo to, "bring out its elegant and intricate design."
If you're looking for a unique and beautiful gift for Mother's Day, then look no further than the elaborate, delicate, and exquisite wood carvings of Decoylab.
You can visit Decoy's Etsy store here: www.etsy.com/shop/decoylab
Visit Kuzunishi's website here: www.deocylab.com
And follow her on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/decoylab